Hohenburg Castle

The Hohenburg, also called Homberg, is the ruin of a hilltop castle in Homberg (Efze) in the Schwalm-Eder district in North Hesse.

The Hohenburg ruin is located in the core town of Homberg on the wooded Schloßberg (376.5 m above sea level), a basalt cone rising steeply from the Efze floodplains south of the mountain, surrounded to the west, south, and east by the built-up areas of the town.

Homberg was located at the intersection of two historic trade routes, the road from Fritzlar via Homberg to Hersfeld and the Lange Hessen. This gave the location important strategic significance.

By whom and when the castle was built is not known. However, in 1162, a Rentwich von Hohenburg was first mentioned in a document; this family died out in 1427 with Simon vom Hohen Berg. From about 1190, it was in the possession of the Landgraviate of Thuringia. The castle was first mentioned in a document in 1246. Together with the town, the castle formed a unit. It was of great importance for the old trade route Frankfurt-Leipzig.

In the 13th century, under Landgrave Heinrich I, it became part of the newly formed Landgraviate of Hesse. It became the administrative center of the Homburg office. In 1508, the brother of the Hessian Landgrave Ludwig II of Lower Hesse, Archbishop Hermann IV of Cologne, was the owner of the castle and had it extensively rebuilt. A bronze plaque, found during excavations at the castle, bears the inscription: Herman von Gotzes gnaden Erzbyschoff zu Colne, des heiligen romschyn richs durch Ytalien, Ertzcantzler, Kurfürst, Herzog zu Westvaln und Engern, des Stifts zu Paderborn, Administrator A(nno) 1508. The bronze plaque is located in the local museum of Homberg. It is characterized by remarkable chasing work and is adorned with the archiepiscopal and landgravial coats of arms.

From 1605 to 1613, Landgrave Moritz had the re-excavated castle well, which with a depth of 150 meters is one of the deepest wells in Germany, constructed for 25,000 Thalers and the castle further reinforced.

The Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel initially maintained neutrality in the Thirty Years' War until 1631. From 1634, the war was brought into Hesse. On July 16, 1636, the town of Homberg was occupied by imperial troops. However, the siege of the castle by General Johann von Götzen with an imperial army of 13,000 men was successfully repelled. During a renewed siege on August 3, 1636, the castle garrison had to surrender due to a lack of water supply. The citizens of the town could not meet the contribution demands of Colonel Tirell. Thereupon, he had the town and castle burned down.

Generalwachtmeister Rabenhaupt besieged the castle from January 28 to 30, 1648, and was able to recapture it for the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel. On February 9, 1648, there was another capitulation.

The heavily damaged castle fell into disrepair and was partly used as a quarry for the reconstruction of the equally heavily damaged town of Homberg. Many structural components of the former castle can still be found in the townscape today.